Euro 2012: Top five goals of past tournaments

Ronnie Whelan (Republic of Ireland 1 - 1 USSR, Euro 1988)

A long throw is hardly the most auspicious start to such a spectacular strike, but the discordant build up is half the charm. Mick McCarthy’s looping, hopeful throw hadn’t a prayer of producing something as special as Ronnie Whelan’s instinctive volley; even Whelan looked surprised as his knees sank to the turf in celebration.

Paul Gascoigne (England 2 - 0 Scotland, Euro 1996)

It is a sad thing to behold the suggestions of a certain internet search engine when typing in ‘Paul Gascoigne’; without going into details, they do not reflect well on one of England’s greatest midfield talents. But ignominy has never been far from Gascoigne’s door. Even in 1996, on the eve of the tournament, the then-Rangers midfielder was at the centre of the lamentable ‘dentists’ chair’ incident. Upon scoring a goal that represented his pinnacle in an England shirt, his celebration, a defiant tribute to one of many moments of excess that have ultimately proved his undoing, encapsulated both Gascoigne’s genius and weakness.

Karel Poborsky (Czech Republic 1 - 0 Portugal, Euro 1996)

Croatian Davor Suker scored a similarly sublime - and more widely-heralded - lob against Denmark in the same tournament, but Karel Poborsky’s effort for the Czech Republic against Portugal, a goal which took his team to the semi-finals, was truly remarkable. Poborsky, having scampered through three players in a tight space after receiving a pass with his back to goal, looked to have lost the run on himself until he suddenly scooped the ball to an improbable height past an onrushing Vitor Baia.

Maniche (Portugal 2 - 1 Netherlands, Euro 2004)

Despite a clutch of league and European titles at club level - including a Champions League trophy with Porto and a league title with Chelsea - there is a general sense that Maniche was never someone who played a truly central part of these successes. The Portugal midfielder was prone instead to bursts of the spectacular from his deep-lying midfield role - his goal against the Dutch at the Euro 2004 semi-finals being a luminous example.

Marco van Basten (USSR 0 - 2 Netherlands, Euro 1988)

Nearly 25 years on, and there still hasn’t been a better goal scored than this in the European Championships. The audacity! The cheek! The chutzpah! The technique! And in the most important game in the Netherlands’ history as well.